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tv   CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley  CBS  September 28, 2012 5:30pm-6:00pm PDT

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abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 67890 cbs caption test !!! maint. testing mdpc-03 f1 abcdefgh >> pelley: tonight, mitt romney needs swing state seniors-- but a new poll shows what they're doing about his medicare plan is driving many away. there is a lot of rhetoric about medicare. what do you intend to go? a police crime lab scientist is arrested for faking test results. did innocent people go to jail? elaine quijano is on the story. 3 f1y of hope for the blind. dr. jon lapook on a new device that brought dean lloyd back from total blindness. and "on the road", steve hartman visits a restaurant whose special city a second helping of compassion. >> i've been very lucky and i want people to have what i have. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" yzith scott pelley.
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>> pelley: good evening, mitt romney has 39 days to turn his 45esidential campaign into a winner but the support of a key voting group is in jeopardy. seniors tend to vote republicans but many are concerned about what a president romney might do with medicare. look at this poll of key swing states by the "washington post." in florida where nearly one out of three voters is over 65, romney trails president obama by four points. 51% to 47%. in ohio, romney is down eight points, 52% to 44%. and it gets about the same z mbers in virginia, eight points behind. in those three states, of senior voters who said medicare is extremely important 53% are going with president obama, 42% mitt romney. we asked dean reynolds to tell us more about the medicare factor. >> the first step to a stronger strcare is to repeal obamacare. oboos)
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because it represents the worst of both worlds! >> reporter: a week ago when republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan spoke about medicare to the american association of retired persons in new orleans, he got an earful. >> the law turned medicare boo into a piggy bank for obamacare! (boos) >> reporter: that frosty reaction is borne out in new polling, both by cbs news and others which found more people thought the president would do a better job handling medicare than governor romney. the "washington post" and kaiser foundation surveyed voters in virginia, ohio, and florida. in those states that found that sajorities of 56%, 59%, and 65% support maintaining medicare's current system of benefits. in flagler beach, florida, walt azie has some serious questions for romney. >> i think romney will turn the economy around but it's the other issues that we don't know about. >> reporter: like what? >> like the medicare, health care issues.
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>> reporter: in haymarket, virginia, life-long republican dan stapleton echoes fears about the romney/ryan ticket. >> i think they want to change ot so dramatically that we won't recognize it quite as medicare once they're done. >> reporter: by balancing the ticket with ryan, an advocate of major changes to entitlement programs, romney has prompted haestions on what he would do about medicare. ro now mitt romney's attacking the president on medicare? >> reporter: and he's also opened the door to an avalanche of democratic attack ads. >> analysts say it could raise seniors' costs up to $6,400 a year. >> reporter: today a spokesperson for the romney campaign called these latest medicare issues "er" because his plan was not adequately explained in the questions. sut, scott, the responses are relevant to romney's hopes. >> pelley: dean, thanks very much. both candidates have had their
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plans distorted in a torrent of negative ads and that is especially true with medicare. so we wasn't to the president and governor romney directly in ipair of interviews for "60 minutes," steve kroft and i asked about their medicare plans. >> what i won't do is take governor romney and congressman ryan's recommendations to turn medicare into a voucher system which would dump more costs on to seniors. what i'm not willing to do is to pay for another tax cut for folks like you and me by cutting help to young people to go to college or basic research that might end up providing cures for debilitating diseases. that's not a recipe for growth and we can reduce our deficit, including making some smart decisions on medicare in particular, where we're focused on lowering health care costs by reforming how health care is delivered but we don't need to
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be voucherizing the system to dump those costs on to seniors because, frankly, they can't afford it right now. >> pelley: there is a lot of rhetoric about medicare. what do you intend to do? >> well, i don't want any change to medicare for current seniors or for those that are nearing retirement. so the plan stays exactly same. >> pelley: make sure i understand. the idea under your plan for future seniors would be that the federal government would write that senior a check, essentially and say "now, you can go buy a private insurance plan or you can buy medicare from the federal government"? >> is that essentially it? >> that's essentially it. people would have a choice of either traditional government- run fee-for-service medicare or a private plan which has to offer the same benefits. it can't be skinnyed down. >> pelley: will the check that comes from the government cover the cost of government-run medicare or the private health insurance? >> oh, yeah, people will have a choice of at least two plans where they have no additional
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out-of-pocket cost other than the traditional medicare formula so they've got to have at least a couple options where they don't have to put up more money. as to the government plan, as long as the government is able to keep its cost down, keep its overhead down it could well be one of the lowest costs, if not the lowest cost option. >> pelley: separately republican party said today that it has filed a complaint against a consulting firm that it hired to hirester voters in swing states, including florida. prosecutors in florida are investigating possible voter fraud by that firm. election officials told us today that a couple of hundred registrations dropped off by ymployees of the firm have what they called irregularities, including multiple forms that appear to be signed by the same person. this evening a fifth person has died from wounds suffered in yesterday's office shooting in minneapolis. the police tell us the gunman had been fired just hours before the attack. eight people were shot as the
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killer passed some employees by and targeted others, including his former boss who was among the dead. .he gunman killed himself. the suspect in last july's movie theater massacre in colorado had aden barred from the campus of the university of colorado after he threatened a professor. we learned that today when hundreds of pages of documents were released in court. barry petersen is at the courthouse in centennial, islorado, tonight. barry? >> reporter: well, scott, media organizations, including cbs news, had argued that corporate documents in this case should be made public. a judge agreed, but first he allowed attorneys on both sides to cross out any information they felt might jeopardize a fair trial. most of the documents released today look like this-- with many blrds on each page blacked out. one document was filed by prosecutors trying to gain access to communication between nilmes and his then-psychiatrist
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university of colorado's dr. lynne fenton. toosecutors allege about five weeks before the movie shooting fothreat was made by holmes owards blank. here the name of the professor is blacked out or, in legal terms, redacted. the document says the unnamed professor then terminated their relationship with holmes and heported the threat to niversity of colorado campus police. amosecutors say the school then banned holmes from the campus. in another document, defense attorneys say three days after the friday night shooting they called the campus to report the existence of a package mailed from holmes to the university. that prompted a swat team to recover the package from a campus mail room. documents say inside the package the technician found a notebook with a post-it note. cbs news sources say that notebook has drawings and writings about a mass shooting. today the notebook is under court-ordered seal, but documents reveal a police officer on the scene fanned through the notebook before it was handed over as evidence.
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the defense documents also revealed that it has hired a sychiatric expert who will also testify on holmes' behalf, but nothing in the document says that mental illness will be used as a defense. and, scott, a lot of information still not out there because they have not released a number of the documents. >> pelley: barry, thank you. police in massachusetts today arrested a crime lab scientist and accused her of faking thousands of tests that may have put innocent people behind bars. elaine quijano is following the story in boston tonight. >> reporter: annie dookhan was arrested at her home outside boston. police say the former state crime lab chemist admitted that she altered or faked test results of drug cases assigned to her. prosecutors say she went as far as adding cocaine to samples that were negative. state attorney general martha coakley. >> there was clearly a short cutting of corners. there was just getting this done as quickly as possible and all
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of that we're still looking at. >> reporter: officials say during her nine years at the lab dookhan tested more than 60,000 drug samples. 1,100 people now in jail were put there in part due to her work. already more than a dozen have been released because of questions about how she handled seidence. john martin is a defense attorney. >> everyone who's been convicted nn the last five to six years is possibly the victim of a very substantial miscarriage of justice and on the other hand a lot of very dangerous people might get out of jail. >> reporter: co-workers called teokhan superwoman because she se ted more than 500 samples a month compared to 150 for a typical chemist. that raised suspicions spelled out in a 100-page report by the massachusetts state police. a supervisor said he never saw dookhan in front of a microscope. another chemist said dookhan would submit a cocaine sample and it would come back heroin or vice versa.
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she is also alleged to have lied under oath claiming to have a master's degree in chemistry from the university of nissachusetts. dookhan later told investigators "i screwed up big time. i messed up. i messed up bad. it's my fault. i don't want the lab to get in trouble." >> if you can get your results done quickly and handle a big volume you're perceived to be a good worker. and beyond that i really can't speculate because we're still anoking at it. but we do not have evidence to date of any other kind of motive >> reporter: the state crime lab was shut down last month. special courts are now being set up to handle the thousands of cases that expected to be reopen and, scott, as for dookhan, if she's convicted on obstruction of justice and lying under oath she could face more than 20 years in prison. >> pelley: elaine, thanks very much. the man behind the film that sparked deadly protests reveals his true identity. these glasses are part of the device that's helping some of
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the blind see again. and it's no joke. the crew of the "costa concordia" wins an award-- when the "cbs evening news" continues. the "cbs evening news" continues. sleep in my contacts. relax... air optix® night & day aqua contact lenses are approved for up to 30 days and nights of continuous wear, so it's okay to sleep in them. visit airoptix.com for a free 1-month trial.
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wthe future of our medicare andr electiosocial security. for... man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan... and what it means for me. woman 2: i'm tired of the negative ads and political spin. that won't help me decide. man 2: i earned my medicare and social security. and i deserve some answers. anncr: where do the candidates stand on issues that... affect seniors today and in the future? find out with the aarp voters' guide at earnedasay.org heartburn symptoms causedelieve by acid reflux disease.
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we were struck by these pictures today, assad's military wiped out a home with a family inside. the entire neighborhood tried to claw through the ruins but workers could rescue only two of 11 family members. prosecutors in los angeles say they finally have the real name of that mysterious man behind the anti-islamic movie that has ignited riots all across the middle east. iae man now known as mark youseff is in a california jail, held without bond. at least 50 people have been killed in protests linked to the otlm, so we asked john blackstone to tell us more about the man and his motives. >> reporter: on the set of his fontroversial movie, the mysterious filmmaker called himself sam bacile. saosecutors knew him as nakoula nakoula, convicted of check fraud in 2010. in court yesterday he identified himself as mark basselly youseff this man of many names is now under arrest for violating his probation for check fraud which
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included not using aliases or the internet. he's described by those who have met him as a coptic christian, originally from egypt. where he got the money to finance the movie isn't known. ot's not even clear there is a movie beyond a 14-minute trailer bested on youtube. he lied to thosee hired for the amateurish production, actress lily dionne says she saw only portions of the script with no mention of mommed. >> you kind of got the feeling that something was amiss but, you know, you're just a nobody actor. nu can't like, say, "hey, you have to give me the script." the trailer drew little attention after it was posted on youtube on july 1 but now its unlikely path to worldwide attention is becoming clear. on september 6, morris sadeck, a coptic christian and anti- islamic activist in virginia had it translated into arabic and sent to egyptian journalists. on september 8, an egyptian talk show host known for his passionate defense of radical islam ran arabic language clips of the film.
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within 48 hours protesters were climbing the walls of the u.s. embassy in cairo. prosecutors now say they will call the film maker mark youseff. under whatever name he could spend up to three years in federal prison for violating terms of his parole. his house near los angeles has been put up for sale and, scott, his family has gone into hiding. >> pelley: john, thank you very much. he lived for decades in darkness now a new device is helping him see the light again. that's next. gain. that's next. it's called passion. and it's not letting up anytime soon. at unitedhealthcare insurance company, we understand that commitment. so does aarp, serving americans 50 and over for generations. so it's no surprise millions have chosen an aarp dicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay.
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>> pelley: this evening, an ley:a. panel recommended oproval of a remarkable device. dr. jon lapook shows us how it can help some of the blind regain part of their sight. >> let there be light. >> reporter: dean lloyd went blind when he was 34 years old. he has retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disease with no cure. >> i had no vision for at least 17 years. >> reporter: a lawyer with his own practice, dean was one of only 30 people worldwide to test the device. it's allowed him to distinguish black from white and see shapes. >> in the last week or two i left my cane at home and used it by itself. but it takes training and thought process to make it work. >> reporter: this is how it works: he doesn't use his eyes sn see. instead, a camera mounted on his glasses captures images that are tranmitted as electrical
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impulses to 60 electrodes implanted at the back of his eye. these electrodes bypass the esmaged retinal cells and stimulate remaining ones connected to the visual center in the brain. the 60 points of light produce a very crude image compared to the millions in someone with healthy vision. dr. eugene de juan helped develop the device and has a financial interest in the company that will sell it. thehis is a rare disease and cee device is meant to use in patients that have lost all of ndeir vision and have any vision at all to help see cars go by, at people, doors, windows, those kinds of things. >> reporter: lloyd hopes this is one step towards his dream of improved vision. >> i want it more useful and more useful. because one of those persons-- i'm one of those persons that have strong expectations and motivations. >> pelley: john lloyd says he wants it more useful. how? >> scott, you know how sometimes you take a digital picture and it's out of focus but there's special software to sharpen it up?
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eciae they're developing similar ping sre for this device. they're looking to increase the number of electrodes at the back el the retina, that should provide more pixels and therefore, hopefully a better dcture. >> pelley: thanks, jon. we did a double take when we saw this story. lloyd's list, a newspaper that covers the maritime industry, has named the crew of the "costa concordia" seafarer of the year. in january, the cruise ship sank off italy, the captain abandoned ship and 32 people died, but the cites cited the crew for bravery in saving more than 3,000 passengers. the employees of this lest raunt restaurant need a second chance at life. steve hartman takes us there "on the road" is next. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function.
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sleep in my contacts. relax... air optix® night & day aqua contact lenses are approved for up to 30 days and nights of continuous wear, so it's okay to sleep in them. visit airoptix.com for a free 1-month trial. >> finally tonight, employers trying to fill a job look for a candidate with a stellar background. most employers anyway. but not when howard which is why steve hartman had to meet her, on the road. >> in this economy everyone is lucky to have work. but few are luckier than the waitress here at woodlands cafe in fort myers florida. before coming to hear michelle had a hard time securing a j.
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mainly because it came to mistakes. it was almost nothing on the menu that she had not tried. >> a little carolyn ... >> as a result of predictions that a state took away all three of her kids and she has been sober five years now but says that most employers do not want that baggage. >> did you think anyone would give you another chance? >> i did not. >> it was not just heard that got a chance, the owner gave the cook a chance, and john the delivery man. >> i was a crack cocaine addict. >> in fact just about everyone that works here is a recovering addict or opera hall like which makes you wonder, what are you thinking gwendolyn? >> tall staff has admitted to stealing. >> they have. >> they admitted to being out of control? >> yes. >> you ignore all that, why? >> i like to see them get better. >> obviously that was part of
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the answer ... >> what are you thinking? >> i have been very lucky, and i want people to have what i have. >> gwendolyn howard is a recovering alcoholic herself, since opening her restaurant a few years ago, she has hired 20 people with similar checkered pasts. >> does this work out all the time? >> no. >> half the time? >> yes, half of the time. half of my hires are incredible. >> she says that by the time to walk in here, those that were out are so grateful for the opportunity that and more than make up for the disappearance. and then she says there are the fringe benefits, like watching someone get their life back, or better yet, their family. thanks to a solid job and sobriety, michelle has all three of her kids back home. >> it is crazy, i did not know it would ever happen. >> as a business model what she is doing in fort myers may or
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may not be prudent but as a life model, she has accomplished something that we all learn from. >> someone has to give them a chance. what if we all be one person a chance? >> i bet that we would all find it addictive ... steve hartman, on the road, in fort myers florida. >> and that is the cbs evening news for tonight. for all of us at cbs news, all round the world, i am scott pelly, i will see you sunday on 60 minutes. good night. >> good evening i am alan martin >> i am dana king, back when it all started, the top-selling passenger car in the united states was a ford taurus. tonight it has been two decades of frustration, expletives,
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could pounding and chest thumping because the bicycle ride people love to hate and they're gearing up for their 20th birthday party. joe vasquez is here with a big frustrating, or fun, depending on your point of view, birthday bash, for critical mass. >> a couple thousand people have gathered already, perhaps more than that, you can see the crowd at justin herman plaza and as i walk right at people from different countries, a man from italy, one from brazil, a couple from canada, the costumes are interesting, very colorful, if they're wearing them, there are at least five naked men in the crowd. and the atmosphere is very festive as they're celebrating two decades of taking over the streets of san francisco. >> on the last friday of the month, for 20 years, they have mounted their bicycles and claude san fransisco traffic.

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